MEMBERS of the public are to be asked to pay for parking at Kendal's Westmorland General Hospital for the first time, starting next week.

The charges will be introduced from Tuesday, October 1, and are part of a new single car park, traffic and site security policy being brought in at the Kendal hospital, and also at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Barrow's Furness General Hospital.

Visitors already pay to park at Lancaster and Barrow.

Hospital bosses say the aim is to manage the sites in a "professional manner", "improving site security and providing an equitable system that will benefit staff, patients and visitors in accessing the hospital sites".

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust director of facilities Martin Ellam said: "There is a continuing demand for a finite number of car parking spaces on each of the hospital sites by patients, visitors and staff.

The revised policy aims to provide improved access for patients, provide car parking spaces for hospital staff who travel between the sites, and further spaces for staff based on individual sites.

"There will be a small increase in charges for the general public, the first in several years, but these increases remain in line with the local town centre charges."

The rates at WGH will be: 60 pence for up to two hours; £1.40 for up to four hours; £1.70 for up to eight hours; £2 for up to 24 hours and £5 for a weekly long stay.

Parking charges for hospital staff at Kendal, which will be managed through a permit system costing approximately 48 pence per week, are to be introduced over four weeks to allow staff to familiarise themselves with the new system.

Union representatives reacted angrily to the staff charges when they were agreed by members of the trust board earlier this year.

All the changes follow a consultative period during which staff, and others, were asked for their views.